- Janamejaya
Emperor Janamejaya (
Sanskrit : जनमेजय) was the son ofMaharaja Parikshit and great-grandson ofArjuna the valiant warrior hero of theMahābhārata epic. He took up the Kuru throne following the death of father. His significance comes as the listener of the first narration of the Mahābhārata, narrated byVaishampayana , student ofVyasa .Mahābhārata
In epic
Mahabharata , Janamejaya was mentioned as having six able brothers viz, Kakshasena, Ugrasena, Chitrasena, Indrasena, Sushena and Bhimasena ["Journal of the Department of Letters" by University of Calcutta (Dept. of Letters),Publ.Calcutta University Press, 1923, p2] . The initial chapters of the epic narrates various aspects of his life including his conquest of Takshasila and about his encounter with Naga Takshaka. He wanted to exterminate the race of Nagas, since Takshaka was responsible for the death of his father Parikshita. Emperor Janamejaya was responsible for the retelling of the famous epic "Mahābhārata " a story of Janamejaya's ancestors from the time ofBharata up to the greatKurukshetra war between his great grandfathers thePandavas and their paternal cousins theKauravas . This was recited to him by the sageVaishampayana after he asked the sage about his ancestors.The mass revenge of Janamejaya on the Nagas
Emperor Janamejaya ascended to the throne of
Hastinapura upon the death of his fatherParikshita . According to legend, Parikshita, the lone descendant of the House ofPandu , had died of snakebite. He had been cursed by a sage to die so, the curse having been consummated by the serpent-chieftainTakshak .Janamejaya bore a deep grudge against the serpents for this act, and thus decided to wipe them out altogether. He attempted this by performing a great "Sarpa satra" - a sacrifice that would destroy all living serpents.
Just as he was about to begin the sacrifice, the
rishi Vyasa arrived with a host of rishis. The sages told Janamejaya that to avenge himself on all Nagas, for the action of one, who was after all consummating a curse, would be unrighteous, and not worthy of one descended from the Pandavas themselves. Janamejaya desists from completing the sacrifice. Upon Janamejaya's expressed curiosity as to the lives and actions of his forefathers, Vyasa's disciple Vaishampayana then narrates the Mahābhārata, at the spot where the homa was to have to have been held.The mass sacrifice was started on the banks of the river Arind at Bardan, now Known as Parham, a corrupt form of Parikshitgarh, A masonry tank said to have been built by Emperor Janamejaya to mark the site of the sacrificial pit, known as "Parikshit kund", still exists in
Mainpuri district. Close to this village a very large and high khera containing the ruins of a fort and some stone sculptures has been found . It is said to date back to the time of EmperorParikshita . A popular local legend is that as a consequence of the virtues of that sacrifice snakes are still harmless in this place and its neighborhood.
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